Kerstin Cable's Blog, page 22

Podcast Episode 41: How to Rock Language Learning for Travel

This episode brings you the best mindset tips for learning a language for your next trip - even if you're completely busy and scared of talking to native speakers.

In this episode you'll hear Awesome listener feedback, including my top tip for what to do when people keep asking you to perform and "say something in" your target language Is it rude not to know the language of the country you are visiting? How I didn't do prep for my Iceland trip in the ideal way - and why a phrasebook would've...

Improvised Russian: Tricks From a Language Fool in Kazakhstan

I've got a guest post that took me down memory lane today, back to my old job which had me travelling to Kazakhstan on a regular basis. The country became one of my favourite travel destinations. Kazakhstan is exciting, lively, full of nomadic promise, and delightfully different from my own country.

Guest writer Marta is Polish, and recently spent a few nomadic weeks in the country. I was so excited when she agreed to tell us her story!

Off to Kazakstan!

Crossing a busy four-lane road in an unma...

Podcast Episode 40: Live From The Polyglot Gathering

This episode comes with a bit of a difference, as Lindsay and I were reporting live from the Polyglot Gathering in Berlin.

We bring you reports and impressions from what's going on at the event.

There are opportunities to listen in to the fabulous language introductions. We had the opportunity to learn about all kinds of languages, from Indonesian to Greek.

It’s about people coming together and accepting each other for who they are. It’s a life philosophy, in a way. - Jordan

I also brought my mi...

How To Get Germans to Speak German To You

One of the most common questions I hear from you guys is how to deal when other people refuse to practice your target language with you. I'm excited to present some awesome advice from Anja at The Germanz in Australia.

Matching this awesome topic, I've created the new guide Make Your German Sound Amazing, featuring 26 Key Phrases For Conversations with German Speakers. Just click on the little black button here to download it and use it alongside Anja's tips.

Click Here to Download the Mini...

When Should You Consider an Offline Language Tutor? + The Tutor Pages Reviewed

When I started out as a language tutor, the lessons I taught were face to face, right here in little Lancaster. I would walk across town or host students at my house, puzzling together language over a friendly cup of tea. It was lovely, and still one of the most comfortable learning environments I've ever worked in.

So when I was approached by British website The Tutor Pages, who asked me to review their service for hiring and finding a tutor right in your town, I was excited to bring you thi...

Episode 38: The Best Tools for Language Learning in Spring/Summer 2016

Episode 38 is brought to you with friendly support from italki. Do visit their site and check out the awesome Buy 1 Get 1 Free offer to learn from native speakers today.

Kerstin and Lindsay bring you the ultimate Spring/Summer collection of language learning tools. We each nominated three things we regularly use for learning languages and discussed how to make them teach you a language.

"I'm not as good as I think I am - but that's a good thing because it motivates me to work harder." - Linds...

The 5 Golden Rules of Adult Language Learning

Ever heard that you should be language learning like a child?

"Kids are like a language sponge" is a belief continued in the media. The mantra goes like this: Little kids are like a language sponge, they pick up any word and phrase you throw at them and will learn a language very easily.

And the myth goes on to claim that adults have missed the boat. They are starting way too late to ever reach any respectable level of expertise in a foreign language, and they'll definitely never sound like...

Episode 37: The Secret Languages of Great Britain (with an expert from Omniglot)

Episode 37 is brought to you by italki, where you can find a language partner for any language. We tested it with rare languages like Icelandic, and it totally delivered. Get an awesome free lesson deal at italki.

Today's Topic: Multilingual Britain

Britain is not monolingual at all, but in fact it is teeming with languages. In this episode, we present you the real landscape of languages spoken in the British Isles.

Can you guess how many languages are indigenous to this country?

We discovered...

Can't Get Into Language Learning At 5AM? Here's Another Way

Today I have a guest post from Kirsty Major who's both a learner and teacher. If you've been rolling your eyes at ideas of all-nighters and miracle mornings for language learning, her post will give you the perfect solution to that problem. Over to you, Kirsty!

The alarm sounded 2 hours before I was due to get up. I resented its intrusion into my sleep and grumpily turned it off. No, this was not going to work. I'd heard of people having great success with early morning language learning, but...

Podcast Episode 36: But WHY!!! Would You Learn a Language?

A feedback question from James led us to discussing why we chose the languages we are learning right now.

We don't need them for our working lives, or our everyday lives.

We don't have Welsh or Korean family.

We're not travelling there.

There isn't even a big Welsh or Korean community in our towns.

So..what gives?

A lot of you guys might be experiencing the same thing when you're learning a language. It's not the kind of activity that everyone gets up to every morning, so friends and family get cu...